China Drafts Anti-Cyberbullying Law With 10M Yuan Fines

China’s internet regulator has unveiled a sweeping draft law against cyberbullying that would hold platforms liable for failing to curb online abuse. Under the proposal published July 29 by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), internet companies found to violate the rules could face fines of up to 10 million yuan in especially serious cases, Caixin Global reported. The public-comment period runs until Aug. 28.

Context

For years, cyber violence in China has been tackled through scattered provisions in the Civil Code, Criminal Law and other regulations, making enforcement uneven. The new draft — seven chapters and 60 articles — would create the country’s first dedicated high-level law against online abuse. According to the CAC’s official notice, it defines cyber violence as concentrated or sustained online acts that infringe on reputation, honor, privacy, likeness or personal information rights, and it would apply to overseas actors who target people or entities inside China.

Key Developments

The draft places significant new duties on platforms. They would be required to verify users’ real identities, use AI and big-data tools to monitor abusive content, avoid algorithmically boosting risky material, offer protective features such as blocking strangers and disabling reposts, and provide quick evidence-collection tools for victims. Major platforms would also have to publish annual governance reports.

Penalties scale with severity: general violations carry fines from 50,000 to 2 million yuan, while cases with “especially serious consequences” can draw 2 million to 10 million yuan and license revocation. Influential “big V” accounts found to organize abuse face fines of 100,000 to 500,000 yuan, blacklisting and a ban on re-registration.

The draft also expands judicial protections. Victims would be able to seek personality-rights injunctions before a court judgment, police would be required to help collect evidence in private prosecutions, and prosecutors could bring public charges in severe defamation cases. Schools would have to incorporate anti-cyberbullying content into curricula, and the draft specifically targets AI-generated abuse by requiring platforms to trace synthetic content used for harassment.

Legal experts said the proposal marks a shift toward prevention. Zhu Wei, a professor at China University of Political Science and Law, called it “the world’s first comprehensive law specifically aimed at combating online harassment,” adding that it moves the focus “from punishment after cyberbullying to prevention,” Global Times reported. The outlet noted that a related hashtag on Weibo had drawn more than 7.83 million views within a day, with one netizen saying platforms “should also bear responsibility for cyberbullying.”

Enforcement remains a key challenge. As 21st Century Business Herald reported via China Youth Net, Peking University researcher Zhao Hong said the existing legal framework offers remedies, but “the difficulty remains case-filing and evidence.” Gao Jingfeng, an official at the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, said anonymity leaves victims in private prosecutions “unable to gather evidence.” To address this, the draft requires platforms to provide visible one-click evidence tools and lets courts order police assistance in private prosecutions.

Analysis

The draft reflects a broader pattern in Chinese internet regulation: treating platforms as the primary line of defense. It also gives victims tools that respond to long-standing problems of evidence and case filing. Yet its effectiveness will depend on how regulators define key thresholds — such as what counts as “concentrated” or “sustained” abuse — and on how smaller platforms absorb the cost of new monitoring obligations, a concern raised in the 21st Century analysis. Final passage by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee is still required, and the consultation period gives stakeholders room to shape the text.

What’s Next

The public consultation closes on Aug. 28, 2026. After that, the draft must be reviewed and approved by the NPC Standing Committee. Its final form — and the details of enforcement — will determine whether China’s first anti-cyber-violence law can translate ambitious rules into real protection for victims.